Bicycle-brake.



9 9 w 4 2 4L- 0 0 d 6 t n 8 m PT N A B T E L & Y E B R A D I H BICYCLEBRAKE.

(Application filed May 1"9, 1899.)

2 Sheets8heet I,

(No Model.)

WITNESSES No. 635,669. Patented Oct. 24, I899. H. W. DABBEY & L. E.TRANT.

BICYCLE BRAKE.

(Application filed May 19, 1899.) (No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

NITED .STATEs HENRY WVILLIAM DARBEY AND PATENT Enron.

BICYCLE-BRAKE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 635,669, dated October24, 1899.

Application filed May 19, 1899. Serial No. 717,496. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, HENRY WILLIAM DAR- BEY and Lnwrs EDWARDS TRANT,manufacturers, subjects of the Queen of Great Britain, residing at 330Coventry road, in the city of Birmingham, England, have invented certainnew and useful Improvements in Cycle- Brakes, of which the following isaspecifi'cation.

This invention relates to the brakework of cycles, and has for itsobject to provide a simple and eificient form of brake designed to actupon the rim of a wheel independent of the tire.

One form of the improved rim-brake is represented in the annexeddrawings, in which Figure 1 represents a perspective View of the brakeand its operating mechanism. Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the saidbrake, show- .ing the brake shown on and with the shoes of it bearing,respectively, against the opposite sides of the inner peripheryof thewheelrim. Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the brake, showing more clearlythe means by which it is mounted upon the front forks of a bicycle. Fig.at is a vertical section taken upon the dotted line m, Fig. 2; and Fig.5 is a horizontal section of the said Fig. 2 upon the dotted line 00',showing the shoes or acting parts of the brake in top side plan. Fig. 6represents the pairs of levers which carry the shoes.

The same letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in theseveral figures of the drawings.

In carrying out this form of our invention,

in connection with a rim-brake applied by giving a lifting movement to asliding operating-rod, such as shown in Fig. 1 of the drawings andmarked a, we provide the lower end a of the said rod with a pair ofcurved or semicircular links or arms 6, arranged in the form of acaliper-shaped frame, with their upbers of the brake-frame havesuflicient curva ture to clear the tire e, and the parts are so arrangedthat when the brake-operating rod is raised by the raising of thehand-lever the lower extremities of the pair of caliper-like arms aremoved both inward and upward, thus causing their shoes or contacts,which are preferably mounted upon the top or inward edges of the lowerends of the arms, to impinge upon the sides of the wheel-rim andexercise an efficient braking action on the wheel. The means forinsuring the closing together of the arms consists (in the arrangementshown in the drawings) of a pair of studs or pins f, carried by andprojecting from clips f or otherwise connected to the steering-forksides and extending through upwardly and inwardly inclined slots g, madenear the contact ends of the arms. Springs 7t are located upon the studsto exercise pressure against the backs of the arms to prevent rattling,while other springs 1', made fast at their upper ends 11 to the arms andat their lower ends 2' to the pins f or to other convenient parts of thecontiguous fork sides, are provided for the purpose of giving the returnmovement and taking the brake out of action by their contraction afterhaving been distended by the lifting of the operating-rod for putting onthe brake. This return movement may, however, be effected by a spring orsprings in connection with either the brake-rod or the operating-lever,which latter may be of either a simple or compound character. Where thelever is of the simple order, it may consist, as shown in Fig. 1, of anarm j, fulcrumed at or near one end j to the handle-bar 7c at a pointbeyond the stem is thereof, and the brake-rod a is jointed to the leverat j inward of its centerj. We do not wish to be understood as limitingourselves to this particular operating mechanism for the rod a, forobviously other means may be employed without departing from the spiritof our invention.

The shoes or impingement-blocks at the inner ends of the curved arms maybe fitted within boxes, such as m, or otherwise secured in position andmay be made of felt or other suitable material. They may also be shapedand inclined at different angles or otherwise adapted to suit wheel-rimsof various sections.

The operation of this brake is thus as follows: When the operating-rodis raised by raising the hand-lever, the curved arms or links of thecaliper-like brake-frame are drawn up with it, and at the same time andby reason of the inwardly-inclined slots near their lower ends workingover the fixed pins projecting from the fork sides the said arms arecompelled to turn inward upon their common joint, and their lower endsare made to approximate, thus causing their shoes or impingements tobear, respectively, against and exercise an equalized pressure upon theopposite side of the inner periphery of the rim and exert the requiredbraking action. This lifting movement distends the springs arrangedbetween the fork sides and the links or members ofthe frame; butimmediately the pressure upon the hand-lever is relieved the saidsprings in again contracting take off the brake and cause the parts toresume their normal positions.

\Ve do not wish to be understood as limiting ourselves to the preciseconnection of the links and operating-rod as herein shown and described,for itwill be obvious that other similar connections may be made tobring about the same result without departing from the spirit of theinvention.

Having fully described our invention, What we desire to claim and secureby Letters Patout is- 1. A cycle-brake consisting of a pair of openingand closing links or arms having inclined slots near their lower ends,brake-shoes carried by said arms, an operating-rod to which the upperends of said links or arms are connected, and fixed pins or projectionspassed through said inclined slots and arranged in such manner that whenthe operating-rod is raised the lower ends of the links are caused toapproximate and their shoes to impinge respectively against the oppositesides of the inner periphery of the wheel-rim, substantially asdescribed.

2. A cycle-brake consisting of a pair of opening and closing links orarms having inclined slots near their lower ends, brake-shoes carried bysaid arms and arranged to be presented to the inner periphery of awheel-rim, an operating-rod to which the upper ends of said links orarms are pivoted by a common joint-pin, and fixed pins or projectionsextended through said inclined slots, the parts being arranged andcooperating, substantially as described.

3. A cycle-brake consisting of a pair of opening and closing arms havinginclined slots near their lower ends, brake-shoes carried by said armsand arranged to be presented to the inner periphery of a Wheel-rim, anoperating-rod to which the upper ends of said arms are pivoted, a springor springs normally acting to spread said arms, and fixed pins orprojections extended through said in clined slots in the arms, the partsbeing arranged and cooperating, substantially as described.

4. A cycle-brakeconsisting of a pair of opening and closing arms havinginclined slots near their lower ends, brake-shoes carried by the freeends of said arms and arranged to make contact With the inner peripheryof a wheel-rim, clips secured to the contiguous members of acycle-frameand carrying pins which project through the inclined slots inthe said arms, springs secured at their opposite ends to the said pinsand arms respectively and acting to normally spread the latter, and anoperating-rod to which the upper ends of said arms are pivoted,substantially as described.

In testimony whereof we have hereunto set our hands in presence of twosubscribing witnesses.

HENRY WILLIAM DARBEY. LEWIS EDWARDS TRANT. Witnesses:

HENRY SKERREr'r, ARTHUR T. SADLER.

